Betrayed by comrades (226)

Liz Kohn has been researching Alice Glasnerová, who was imprisoned as part of the early Cold War Czechoslovak show trials known as the Slansky trials. These were among the most notorious show trials of the 20th century, with the prosecution and sentencing to death of Rudolf Slánský, general secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist party, and 10 other defendants, who had been arrested in a brutal purge ordered by Stalin. Alice Glasnerová was Liz’s father’s first wife. When Liz started researching Alice’s life she had never seen a picture of her and had never read a word she had written. All I knew was that she had been married to her father and had been a member of the communist party. Liz has pieced together a tragic story of a couple although deeply in love, who were separated by the difference in their political views which ultimately resulted in pain, disillusion and betrayal. Now if you think there is a vast army of research assistants, audio engineers and producers putting together this podcast you’d be wrong. This podcast relies on your support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available to everyone for free. If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one-off or monthly donations. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details. If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show. 0:00 Introduction to Liz Kohn and her research on Alice Glasnerova 6:17 Alice Glasnerova's political journey and experiences in the Soviet Union 14:58 Alice's experiences in Spain and the aftermath 17:13 Alice's journey to America and the impact of Anti-Semitism 20:02 Alice's return to Czechoslovakia and involvement in the war 27:21 The communist takeover in Czechoslovakia and its impact on Alice's life 31:04 Alice's arrest and her involvement with Noel Field 43:38 The notorious Slansky trial and its outcomes 49:21 Helena's trial, imprisonment, and post-release struggles 1:00:52 Future plans for the story of Alice and Helena 1:01:59 Closing remarks, appreciation for patrons, and invitation to join the Facebook group Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨

You can read more about Liz’s research on her blog https://lookingforalice.com/ There are further videos, photos and information on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode226/

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Release date

Lydbog: 12. marts 2022